A major failure with services is when:

• A reasonable consumer would not have acquired the services if they had known the nature and extent of the problem. For example, a reasonable consumer would not pay to have acrylic nails attached if they knew the nails would fall off within an hour;
• The services are substantially unfit for their normal purpose and cannot easily be made fit, within a reasonable time. For example, a carpet-cleaning service changes the colour of the consumer’s carpet in some places;
• The consumer told the supplier they wanted a specific purpose but the services, and any resulting product, do not achieve that purpose and cannot easily or within a reasonable time be made to achieve it. For example, a consumer tells a pay TV company they want to watch the Olympics. They sign up to a 24 month contract but the Olympics are over before the company installs the service;
• The consumer told the supplier they wanted a specific result but the services, and any resulting product, do not achieve that result and cannot easily or within a reasonable time be made to achieve it. For example, a consumer asks a technician to increase the memory capacity of the consumer’s computer. When installing an extra drive, the technician damages the hard drive. Repairs will take six weeks but the consumer needs the computer within a week; or
• The supply of the services has created an unsafe situation. For example, an electrician incorrectly wires wall sockets in a consumer’s new kitchen, which makes the electrical outlets unsafe.

When there is a major failure with a service, the consumer can choose to:

• cancel the service contract and get a refund; or
• keep the contract and get compensation for the difference in the service delivered and what they paid for.

The consumer gets to choose, not the business.

Example:

A consumer has signed a building contract that sets out the specifications for her new house. When the house is completed, the consumer notices a few windows are not in the right place. Because the builder has not met the standard required by the contract, the consumer is entitled to compensation.

For minor problems that can be fixed, the consumer cannot cancel and demand a refund immediately.

They must give you, as the supplier, an opportunity to fix the problem. You must do this:

• free of charge; and
• within a reasonable time. This depends on the circumstances.

Example:

A reasonable time to fix a problem with a haircut would be much shorter than the reasonable time to fix a problem with a landscaping project.

If you refuse to fix the problem or take too long, the consumer can:

• get someone else to deliver the service and ask you to pay reasonable costs; or
• cancel the contract and get some or all of their money back, if they have already paid. A consumer who has not yet paid, or only partly paid, can refuse to pay for the defective services at all, or pay less than the agreed price.

A reasonable cost would be within the normal range charged by suppliers, and include:

• the cost of the repair
• any other associated costs.

A consumer is not entitled to a remedy when you do not meet one of the consumer guarantees due to something:

• someone else said or did (excluding your agent or employee); or
• beyond human control that happened after the goods or services were supplied.

This exception does not apply when you have not provided the service with due care and skill.

Example

It takes a qualified painter three weeks to paint a house but the job has taken four weeks. The sole reason for the delay was the weather, which is outside the painter’s control. The consumer would not be entitled to a remedy.